Food or environmental contamination may be defined as the presence in food or the environment of harmful, unpalatable, or otherwise objectionable foreign substances, e.g. chemicals, microorganisms or diluents.
Ideal microorganism and toxin detection in the food industry and all industries in general should have at least some of the following characteristics: ability to detect a number of different pathogens at a cost that is affordable; ability to easily incorporate new pathogen tests into regimes to ensure that any emerging pathogens is not overlooked; detection should be simple to perform by untrained personnel; it should require only minimal or no instrumentation and preclude mistakes and poor performance resulting in incorrect interpretation; it should be sensitive enough to detect low levels of pathogens, and yet specific for detection of the pathogenic species of interest.
Most conventional methods for detecting foodborne bacterial pathogens in food and other substances rely on the use of microbiological media to selectively grow and enumerate bacterial species. The methods are sensitive and inexpensive, and provide qualitative as well as quantitative results. Unfortunately for the food industry, where time and costs are issues, the preparation of media and plates, colony counting, and biochemical characterization of the isolated colonies make for a time-consuming and labor-intensive process (de Boer and Beumer 1999).
WO1999002650 (Oxoid Limited) relates to a selective enrichment and detection method of microorganisms that comprises incubating the sample in a pre-enrichment medium, with one or more selective agents to favor growth of the target microorganism arranged for release into the medium after a predetermined time delay. The method presented therein combines pre-enrichment and selective enrichment steps by use of timed release of the selective agent(s).
WO1994028163 (Foss Electric AS) relates to a method for the determination of Salmonella, comprising an enrichment step and a determination step. The enrichment procedure involves selective conditions, notably the use of the selective substances tetrathionate and/or novobiocin or an increase in culturing temperature to 39-43° C., favouring the early detection of Salmonella. 
Devices for analysing samples are known from U.S. Pat. No. 6,197,574 B1 by Miyamoto et al, WO 97/03209 A1 by Charm Sciences. Inc. Et Al., Fr 2 849 861 A1 form Giat Industries S.A., US 2009/197283 A1, from Gold Et A1, EP 1 712 614 A1 form SRL. Inc. Et al, and US 2006/088895 A1 from Wanders et al, almost all of them describing test tubes provided with collector sticks destined to collect a microsample by scratching the surface of an object which could contain biological hazard agents.
From a public health perspective, faster detection times are essential to prevent the spread of infectious diseases or the identification of a continuing source of infection. In situ testing in the potentially contaminated premises is therefore more desirable than shipping samples for later laboratory testing.
Widely employed rapid testing methods include immunoassays and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) based tests. Immunoassays are antibody-based tests that are sensitive diagnostic tools for the in vitro detection of a variety of antigens associated with disease or other physical conditions of clinical significance. PCR-based tests are considered especially attractive due to their relative low cost and potential application in large-scale screening programs by means of automated technologies. However, PCR testing is still a complex technique for application in routine analysis, thereby requiring qualified personnel and specialized laboratory machinery.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a device that allows the detection of food or environmental contamination in situ.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a device that allows the enrichment of macro samples, like a piece of meat, fish, cheese, etc.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a device that allows the detection of contaminating microorganisms and toxins in macro samples, like a piece of meat, fish, cheese, etc.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a device that permits the introduction of a test sample into the device without accidentally contaminating the interior components of the device.
It is an object of the invention to provide a device that allows manipulating in a comfortable, safe and easy way macrosamples of meat or the like.
In the present description macrosample refers to samples that weight a few grams, i.e., samples corresponding to a piece of meat or the like. With this meaning, a sample obtained by scratching a piece of food or by dipping in it a collector stick does not fall in the scope of a macrosample.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a device that allows contaminants detection without accidentally contaminating the surrounding premises. It is an object of the present invention to provide a device for detecting food or environmental contamination that contributes to, complies with, and therefore may be used in a contingency plan for food or environmental contamination.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a device that is easy and simple to be handled by untrained personnel.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a device that enables the extraction of exact or pre-determined aliquots of a mixture of a test sample and culture media by untrained personnel without requiring a control or verification.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a device that allows the extraction of exact or pre-determined aliquots of an enriched and filtered sample in a confined receptacle where its analytes can be further extracted and detected.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a device that integrates 3 processing chambers into one single chamber, i.e. those chambers for filtering an enriched aliquot, for analyte extraction, and for analyte detection.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a device that integrates 3 processing chambers into one single chamber, which is a watertight compartment.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a device that integrates 3 processing chambers into one single chamber, which moreover maintains its autonomy and function during each of the 3 processing steps, i.e. filtering, analyte extraction, and analyte detection.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a device that allows the manipulation of and assaying a test sample with a lateral flow immunochromatography strip by untrained personnel.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a device that avoids disabling lateral flow immunochromatography strips, by incorrect or accidental manipulation.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a device that is industrially manufacturable.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a device that employs injection molds in cost-effective series, thereby facilitating automatic assembly.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a device that is not expensive.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a device that is portable, that allows in situ detection of food or environmental contamination.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a device that is disposable, particularly in non-specialized waste containers or facilities.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a device that allows the circulation and processing of the sample to be finally detected and read, to be used by untrained personnel, and with minimal manipulation.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a device that eliminates the risks of malfunctioning, flaws, or wrong manipulation by the user.